{"id":3123,"date":"2026-06-19T22:07:35","date_gmt":"2026-06-19T22:07:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3123"},"modified":"2026-06-19T22:07:35","modified_gmt":"2026-06-19T22:07:35","slug":"mbta-boss-phil-eng-apologizes-for-pulling-employees-hair-it-was-insensitive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3123","title":{"rendered":"MBTA boss Phil Eng apologizes for pulling employee\u2019s hair. \u2018It was insensitive.\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Phil Eng,the state\u2019s top transportation official, acknowledged Friday that his actions were \u201cinsensitive\u201d nearly two years ago when he pulled the hair of one of his employees after a MBTA team dinner.<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more United States clinches spot in Round of 32 with World Cup victory over Australia<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThe incident that happened two years ago is something that I\u2019ve apologized for,\u201d he told the Globe in an interview outside South Station, where he said he hadbeen greeting World Cup fans boarding trains headed to Foxborough ahead of the Scotland-Morocco match Friday evening. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI understand now in hindsight that it was insensitive,\u201d he said, adding he is looking to \u201ccontinue to build an inclusive and a welcoming workplace\u201d at the MBTA. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Eng, who is serving as both T general manager and the state\u2019s interim transportation secretary, reiterated Friday that the November 2024 dinner was a \u201cteam-building exercise at a restaurant\u201d with members of the T\u2019s executive team and their spouses.<\/span><\/p>\n

A T spokesperson on Thursday said Eng had an \u201cinsensitive interaction with one of his direct reports\u201d and apologized. T officials said multiple employees had talked earlier at the event about hair and in pulling the employee\u2019s hair, Eng was poking fun at his own baldness.<\/span><\/p>\n

WCVB first reported on the incident Thursday, saying it occurred in 2024 at a brewery. Eng also appeared in a taped interview with the TV station, a part of which was released Friday. He called the incident an \u201cinteraction that I shouldn\u2019t have done.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Eng declined to name the employee when asked by the Globe on Friday, but said he apologized \u201cshortly after\u201d the incident. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt was brought to my attention several days later,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Joe Pesaturo, a T spokesperson, said in a statement that \u201cany claims of harassment, discrimination or retaliatory behavior are completely without merit.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Read more \u2018Dima Maghreb\u2019: Moroccan fans ready to oust Scots in Boston ahead of World Cup matchup<\/a><\/p>\n

Governor Maura Healey last year tapped Eng to take on the second role in her Cabinet, elevating him after more than two years of leading the T during which he\u2019s won praise from riders and politicians alike, namely Healey herself.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIn Phil we trust!\u201d the governor said during her 2025 State of the Commonwealth address.<\/span><\/p>\n

The dual positions have made him one of the busiest, and also important, figures in Healey\u2019s administration. Healey has struggled to keep someone in the transportation secretary role during her first term, and it\u2019s a notoriously hard job to hire for in state government. Healey has had three transportation secretaries over her first 3 \u00bd years in office, including one who resigned after just eight months in the job.<\/span><\/p>\n

A spokesperson for Healey declined to comment Friday on Eng\u2019s admission.Eng told the Globe Friday he had been in touch with the governor.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve spoken with the governor, I\u2019ve spoken with other folks,\u201d he said. \u201cEveryone knows I\u2019ve apologized.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Speaking after an unrelated event, Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll called his actions \u201cinsensitive,\u201d but noted that Eng apologized for an incident that, even though it happened in 2024, \u201ccame to light . . . through the press now.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s certainly come forward and recognized that. And that\u2019s the right thing to do when something like that occurs,\u201d Driscoll said. \u201cWe\u2019ll see what happens going forward.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more President Trump unveils the new Air Force One, a converted Qatari jet<\/a><\/p>\n

Material from previous Globe coverage was used in this report<\/i>.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Phil Eng, the state\u2019s top transportation official, acknowledged Friday that his actions were \u201cinsensitive\u201d nearly two years ago when he pulled the hair of one of his employees after a MBTA team dinner.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3122,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3123","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"\nMBTA boss Phil Eng apologizes for pulling employee\u2019s hair. \u2018It was insensitive.\u2019 - Boston Relocation Insider<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3123\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"MBTA boss Phil Eng apologizes for pulling employee\u2019s hair. \u2018It was insensitive.\u2019 - 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